Does anyone know where one can buy a couple of boxes of .32 S&W ammo for a H&R .32 model 1895 top break??
your best bet would be to reload your own, i don't think anyone commercially loads them in black powder now. .32 S&W never was a very powerful round, even the modern ammo only runs about 700 fps & a little less than 100 lb ft. of energy at the muzzle, which can't be any higher than the black powder rounds were. if your firearm is in good condition, you MAY be able to safely fire the smokless stuff. of course i am not a balistics engineer or firearm designer so take my advice at face value
32 H&R is a little more powerful than 32 S&W. I'd be extremely careful if you decide to use full powered modern ammo in it. You best bet would be reloading as previously stated. Plus, regular 32 H&R is expensive. It cost around $30 per 50 rd box around here, if you can even find it. I had to look 60 miles away to even find some, and even then the choices were extremely limited. Black powder loads would probably be extremely hard to find.
I am sorry...I was in a hurry and not clear. The revolver is a H&R .32 top break manufactured in 1895 and chambered for .32 S&W shorts in black powder. The revolver is in excellent condition but I will not fire modern ammo through it and have no reloading skills, experience or gear. What I would like to find is a source for a couple of boxes of .32S&W shorts loaded for black powder so as to let me at least shoot the thing a bit.
I can not find any. I would suggest if you have a local company that sells reloads(try at local gun shows and local gun shops) ask them to load some bp loads for you.
I buy these and restore them, and have had many of them over the years and all I ever shoot in them is Remmington 32 S&W 88 gr.lead RN. I just shot 5 rounds two days ago. These are more accurate than they claim to be. I've read the suicde articles on these guns and as long as my gun looks in good shape and locks up good , I shoot it. I've seen pictures of new guns that blew up.
That clears thing up a bit. There is a lot of ammo that fits into the .32 range. .32 S&W Shorts are even harder to find. At least they are around here. I highly suggest either rolling your own, or finding someone who reloads and have them make some for you. Just make sure to load them light.
That pistol was built in the 1940`s or 50`s...........What is the serial # ? Pretty sure that is a modern ammunition pistol.
I was looking at some of those today. Were some of them DAO. They want to make me a deal on 4 of them cuz their gunsmiths won't touch them and they don't want to look at them anymore. They all need work and will test my skills as a novice gunsmith but will be great winter projects. Any idea on some values?
They are easy to work on and you can still find parts for them. I'll help you if I can and if you don't want them, I'll take them. The reason gun smiths don't want to work on them is because they know very little about them. I've had good gunsmiths call me for advice. A smart man can look at any gun and tell if it can be fired. I fire damascus barrels that meet my inspection. The steel made in the 20 was better that some of this crap they make overseas now.
No, it was manufactured in 1895...I did an extensive check after I bought it and consulted a couple of experts... There is no serial number. The topstrap is marked as follows: "Harrington & Richardson Arms Co Worcester Mass USA Pat Oct 4 1887 May 14 89 Feb 23 92" Please do not read anything into any spelling errors above as I cannot type so Caps, punctuation and locations often discover unique spellings in my posts.
.38 S&W is sharply divided by Black/smokeless. However, .32 S&W is not, since the current smokeless loads pretty well copy black powder pressures. IF the timing is good, and cylinder locks well at full cock, would go with it. Ref: Serial number- two places to check IF you have not done so already- 1. Remove cylinder, look at the UNDERSIDE of the topstrap, and 2. Remove grips. Many had the SN stamped in the SIDE of the grip area, covered by the grips.
Always thought the 32acp was designed with a semi-rimmed case so that it could cross over to the revolvers of the time. Any opinions on that notion?
DO NOT attempt to use .32 ACP in a revolver- most ESPECIALLY a top break revolver. The S&W runs about 93 ft lbs, usually with a lead bullet. The ACP about 128 ft lbs, usually with a jacketed bullet (which will up pressures) John Browning created the .32 ACP- needed the straight case for blowback, tiny rim to feed from a magazine. Hence the "semi-rimmed" case.
